Libya-based Wahda Bank has selected Backbase to build a digital banking platform for its business and retail customers.
Under the partnership, Wahda Bank will deploy Backbase’s Banking OS, which the provider describes as AI-native. Business banking will go live first in 2027, covering digital onboarding, daily banking, and invoice management. Retail banking will follow on the same platform, adding cards and money management functions for more than 500,000 customers.
Business banking features at launch
At launch, Libyan businesses will be able to open accounts online using electronic identity verification. Once onboarded, they can run payroll and pay bills from one app, with invoice management available alongside these functions. According to the announcement, few banks in the country currently offer this combination of services.
All customer journeys will be designed Arabic-first, with full English support. The platform will also be used internally: branch and contact centre staff will access the Banking OS through a single servicing workspace that displays complete customer details.
Regulatory push towards digital-first banking
In Libya, opening a bank account still requires a branch visit. The Central Bank of Libya is moving the sector towards a digital-first model, and its National Financial Inclusion Strategy identifies electronic payments, small and medium-sized businesses, and artificial intelligence among its core pillars.
Rami Benissa, CEO at Wahda Bank, described the partnership as the next step in the bank’s digital transformation, noting that it will provide business and retail customers with Arabic-first digital banking on a platform that the bank’s own engineers will continue to extend. Ahmed Gadalla, Chairman of Alushibe Holding Group, pointed to the number of Libyans who still depend on branches for basic services, stating that the partnership is intended to bring digital banking to customers across the country and support the development of the financial system.
Integration and in-house capability
The Banking OS will integrate with Wahda Bank’s Oracle FLEXCUBE core banking system, as well as with LYPay and OnePay, Libya’s instant payment rails. Wahda Bank selected Backbase as a long-term partner, with the aim of keeping pace with market developments while retaining control of its own roadmap. Ready-made journeys are intended to shorten the time to launch, while the platform’s headless architecture allows the bank’s engineers to build further functionality as requirements change.
Knowledge transfer forms part of the arrangement. Wahda Bank’s engineers will work in joint teams with Backbase from the outset and train through Backbase Academy, building the in-house skills needed to extend the platform over time. Corporate banking and Conversational Banking are planned for later phases.
Jouk Pleiter, Founder and CEO at Backbase, said Libya is building a modern digital economy within a short timeframe, and that Wahda Bank is bringing business and retail banking onto one platform from the start.
The partnership comes at a time when Libya’s e-payment and digital banking usage has registered an important growth, as reported by Libya Herald. The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) has revealed that during 1 January and 31 August 2026, the total value of Libya’s electronic payment transfers processed through various systems reached approximately USD 119.3 billion (LYD 764.9 billion).
